In the summer of 2022, the Edmonton Oilers’ prospect pool appeared to be full of talented young forwards.
None of them were selected in the first round of the NHL draft, but it seems fair to predict consistent year-to-year progress, culminating in at least one of them becoming a productive player for the Edmonton Oilers in a year, two, or three.
That seems a lot less likely just now as that class of ’23 all had down years. This isn’t to say one or two players, such as today’s spotlight recruit, Maxim Berezkin, won’t make it with the Oilers. Berezkin and a few others have a decent shot. But, overall, the trend was troubling.
In the Cult of Hockey prospect rankings last summer, first round pick Xavier Bourgault was ranked #1 and second round pick Raphael Lavoie ranked #2 after reasonably productive 2022-23 seasons in Bakersfield. Russian attacker Matvey Petrov, who had ripped it up in the OHL, was #3, then came another promising AHLer, Tyler Tullio, and Carter Savoie, who had excelled in U.S. college hockey.
All five players were in Bakersfield this past season, and all five saw their stock drop considerably as pro prospects. Four of them are now gone from the Oilers organization.
- In his fourth AHL season, Lavoie had 50 points in 66 games, but failed to make the Oilers and was waived, with not one of 31 teams claiming him, a harsh second opinion on his game from every other NHL team.
- In his second AHL season, Savoie had just 22 points in 63. The Oilers did not offer him a new contract.
- In his second AHL season as well, Tullio had just 21 points in 54 games. He was traded with Ryan McLeod to Buffalo for Matthew Savoie.
- Bourgault saw his scoring drop from 34 points in 62 games to 20 points in 55 games in his second AHL season. He was traded to Ottawa for Roby Jarventie.
- In his rookie AHL season, Petrov had just 14 points in 53 AHL games, dropping from third to 13th in Cult of Hockey rankings of Oilers prospects.
Maybe none of these prospects were as good as they were cracked up to be. Or maybe the Oilers organization failed them in some way on their developmental path. Either way, it’s a bad look for the organization’s development system. Change is needed and some of that has come with the Oilers hiring Kalle Larsson as the Senior Director of Player Development and brining in Rick Pracey as the new head amateur scout.
Only two forwards on Edmonton’s prospect list trended up from 2023 to 2024 and neither of them was in Bakersfield, big and aggressive Scott LaChance of Boston University and big and skilled Maxim Berezkin of Yaroslavl Lokmotiv.
Berezkin, who will be 23 in October and is under contract one more year in Yaroslavl, has displayed solid development every year since Ken Holland’s Oilers drafted him in the fifth round of the 2020 draft. He’s gone from 2 points in 31 games in 2020-11 to 30 points in 62 games last season, along with a team-high 16 points in 20 playoff games, fourth best for all KHL playoff scorers in 2024. He’s become a top-end KHL winger.
Here’s what various prospect experts have said of Berezkin along the way:
In its spring of 2020 NHL draft guide, Elite Prospects reported; “He creates offence by roughing opponents in the offensive zone and taking the puck along the wall.”
The Draft Analyst said: “With a large frame and advanced offensive talents in key areas, Maksim Beryozkin is hard to miss when a Loko game is on… His game may be better suited for right wing given his exceptional passing ability.”
In August 2023, Corey Pronman of The Athletic said: “Berezkin is a big powerful winger with very good puck skills and a good shot as well. His skating is just OK, though, and that may limit him at the NHL level.”
That same August 2023, Steve Ellis of the Daily Faceoff said, “His confidence and decision-making with the puck have only improved over time.”
And in February 2024, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic said: “Despite being a really bulky, heavyset guy, he actually doesn’t play as you might expect either. He’s not the driven, shot-first, physical, powerful-skating player that a Holloway is (or a Schaefer was when they picked him). Instead, he plays more of a puck protection game that tries to utilize his size and length to keep players on his hip and facilitate or take pucks from the wall to shooting areas (rather than just driving them to the net).”
This July, Ellis of the Daily Faceoff said: “Berezkin can become an NHLer. He’s 6-foot-4, 212 pounds and is very difficult to contain when he’s at speed. He also has a good shot that he put on display often during the playoffs, where he seemingly played his best hockey of the year… The Oilers should do everything possible to bring him over after his KHL contract ends this spring.”
What does he sound like to me? A player with some stylistic similarities to a Dustin Penner. When Penner was 22, he had 84 points in 57 AHl games, marking him as an NHLer. Berezkin isn’t so advanced but his outstanding KHL playoff also marks him as a prospect to watch.
Expectations for 2024-25:That he play on Yaroslavl’s top line, up his rate of point scoring, and earn an Entry Level Contract with the Oilers in the early summer. He’ll likely need time in Bakersfield in 2025-26, but it’s not crazy talk to expect him to knock on the door of the Oilers roster next season.
